Until It Is Through
by Tiggy the Hopeless Romantic
Summary: Ever after does not always last forever, no matter how happy things once seemed. Complete 6.11.09
1. Chapter 1

Spring Break is nice... well, I mean it snowed a little yesterday so it's not so Spring like, but I have some free time, so I decided to go ahead and start this!

This is a sequel to my story, As If By Magic. While I'd prefer it if you read that first, I suppose you could just read this. To sum it up, at Shiz, Fiyero and Elphaba got together, mostly because he had a growing interest in Animal rights. She eventually decided to see the Wizard and he goes with her. When she realizes the Wizard is not all she thought he was, he agrees to go underground with her. They faked their deaths and moved to the City.

And here we are... this story will contain darker themes than As If By Magic, which is the main reason I decided to post is seperatly. It's booksicalverse, and while it's rated T for now, might get raised to M.

Happy reading!

* * *

Sunlight woke him up, not for the first time. The bedroom faced East and had a large window with very sheer curtains, letting almost all of the morning sunlight in. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to block out the sun and fall back asleep. When it didn't work, he groaned, submitting to the fact that it was morning. He reached over, hoping to find a warm body beside his; he was disappointed, but not surprised.

He got dressed and made his way to the main living room, which also served as a kitchen and dining room. He made coffee, the height of his domestic abilities. He drank it black, settling into one of the secondhand kitchen chairs. He was done with it by the time he heard the footsteps rushing up the stairs, turning the key in the lock. The door swung open and he glanced up, to be greeted with nothing but an annoyed "Damnit."

"Good morning, love," he said mildly. She slumped down into one of the chairs, letting her forehead rest on the table and he got up to relock the door. "So it's safe to assume you never came home last night?"

"I told you not to wait up for me," she admitted. "I'd hoped to be back before now, though."

He touched her shoulder, aware of how tired she was. In a soft voice, not accusatory or angry, but concerned, he said, "I thought we'd agreed that you would pull back? Slow down, at least until after-"

"After the baby is born?" she supplied, not wanting to snap at him, but tired of the conversation already. She pushed up so she could look at him. "Look, I know, but I don't know how to tell them."

"They should be able to figure it out by now, or at least they will soon," he said fondly, letting his hand drift down to her stomach. "Do you want me to tell them? I will."

She smiled, at least for a second. "I'm happy, I really am, Yero. I just.... there are so few women in the Resistance, anyway, and that was part of their reason for being so hard in the screening process, they don't want people to quit halfway through a mission or whatever and I-"

"And you don't want to quit."

"And I don't want to quit," she admitted. "I'm horrible, aren't I?"

He nudged her up out of the chair and walked her back to their bedroom. "No, you aren't. You just don't like sitting on the sidelines when there's a rebellion going on." He gestured to the bed, and she didn't take much more encouragement than that, collapsing down onto it. "But we are having a baby. You are pregnant, and the baby isn't going to wait for some convenient time, some off season." He tucked the blankets around her. "And you need to take care of yourself."

"You won't be joining me?" she asked, trying to mask her disappointment.

"As much as I would love to stay with you, no. Work to be done." He kissed her, making sure she was settled, seeing her eyelashes flutter as she tried to stay awake. "Sleep. I'll be home later, we should be able to eat dinner together?"

"I'm off tonight,"

"I... have a couple of hours in between shifts," he admitted. "I love you," he said, getting ready to go.

She pulled the blanket up around her chin. "I'll stop,"

"Hmm?"

She propped herself up on her elbows. "They have me on a mission, ending in early winter. That's just a few weeks. When it's over, it's over. At least until after the baby is born."

He smiled a little. "Good. Now I really do need to go," he said, knowing she would be asleep before he'd even left the apartment.

They were doing pretty well. They used a half dozen false names, careful not to do anything that would bring too much attention to them. They had found a rebel cell pretty easily, both falling into it- her with a bit more passion than him. He'd decided that he would also hold a more conventional job- being a terrorist didn't pay very much. There had been ups and downs mostly due to a lack of time together.

The Resistance (the Anti-Wizard activist group had no formal name other than that) knew they were married, but weren't pleased with it, and carefully made sure they were never put on the same assignment. They claimed it would hurt productivity. He knew they wouldn't be pleased when they found out she was having a baby.

Well, he was pretty happy about it.

He was thrilled that after five years living in the City they were starting a family, and for more than the typical reasons. He didn't have the Anti-Wizard fervor that she did. Once, she had angrily accused him of being incapable of getting passionate about anything. He'd admitted that being a terrorist was not his life- loving her was. So, a selfish part of him was glad that she would be at least temporarily unable to work. He hoped that their child would give her something else to live for, something safer.

He doubted it, but he could hope.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all. Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been busy and tired lately. The next chapter shouldn't take very long, though. Please review!

* * *

"Yes Ma'am, could you get me a box for this?" he asked the waitress after he was done picking at his lunch in a cafe in the City. "It'll probably be my dinner, too."

The waitress, a woman maybe five years older than him widened her eyes. "I'm surprised you don't have a little lady at home to make your dinner for you."

"That's because I do. Rather, I am married, but she appreciates it when I take the initiative to provide for myself upon occasion. We're expecting and she already works too hard for her own good."

The woman squeezed his shoulder fondly. "Well, give her my congratulations and I'll bring that box for you."

"Thank you very much," he said, feeling very at ease, wishing the rest of his life were as normal and acceptable as his marriage.

He drummed his fingers across the counter top, eager to occupy himself as she made her way back into the kitchen. He wasn't in a hurry, knowing that Elphaba wouldn't be home until the evening and he had no other plans. Maybe, if she got home early enough and wasn't too tired he'd be able to wheedle her into at least walking _past_ the nearby furniture store which he knew held several cradles.

Perhaps not. She seemed content to not think about the baby very much, saying that in a few months time he or she would make him or herself apparent enough.

Growing bored, he caught the conversation of another patron. "... Really, what were you thinking? We could have found a much nicer place than this." The voice was that of a young woman, one that was cold and restrained. A very familiar voice.

"It's fine," The sound of a chair scuffling accompanied the voice of her dining partner, a young man. "Really, just because a place doesn't break the bank doesn't mean it's not suitable for your business." And his voice was familiar as well.

Really, it should have been. Afterall, the young lady was Fiyero's own sister-in-law, and her friend was a very jaded sounding Boq. _Fuck, _was his only thought. He felt it summed the situation up pretty nicely.

They had been able to carefully avoid being detected by anyone they had ever met in their former lives, mostly due to carefully listening to their families travel plans. When had Nessarsose decided to take a trip to the City? She hadn't even left Munchkinland since her father's death the year before. She had inherited the title of Governor and had passed several questionable laws in the few months she had ruled. Elphaba didn't like to talk about it very much. When the topic of her sister's political practices was brought up she always seemed to have a sudden headache that would subside as soon as the conversation shifted.

He reached for the newspaper that had been mixed into his belongings, pulling it up so it obscured his face. He said a little prayer to any and every deity he could think of, in the vain hope that the spatting couple would not notice him. Luck(or Lurline, the Unnamed God, Kumbricia, or whatever) seemed to be at his side. They were too busy arguing to pay any attention to him.

"I can afford better service than what can be offered here,"

"If you don't mind my saying so, Madam, it's not better service money buys. It's prestige. That's all."

There was a slight quiver to her voice as she said, "Please don't call me that, Boq."

"I'm just offering you the respect one of your station demands." What in the world had happened? What had changed the both of them in such a violent manor? Fiyero had never been particular close to either of them, but he had nothing but pleasant memories of either of them. When had Nessarose become so uppity, cold and manipulative? And since when was Boq capable of a voice filled with that much malice?

She still sounded wounded and Fiyero was driven to pity her. "Are you so truly unhappy that you'll deny me my name?"

"Are you truly so manipulative that restrict the rights of an entire people just because you are afraid you'll be alone forever? Madame?"

With a skill that only she possessed, at once she pleaded and commanded. "My mother died at my birth. My sister died. My father died. No friend stuck around. No servant really cared and you never truly loved. You would have left me, too."

He shifted uncomfortably and was almost tender for half a second. "Your family died, no one chose to leave you." His cold anger rose back up. "And you would have made friends if you stopped controlling people! You are right, Madam, I have no desire to stay in your presence anymore. But I do because you've turned the Munchkinlanders into little more than slaves. Even if I could leave you, I wouldn't. I'm terrified of what you would do left to your own devices. Hence, Madame,"

"Peace," she said, in that same pleading command, as if she wished he would obey her even if he didn't have to. "I want to eat in peace."

"As you wish, Madame. I hope your meal is to your liking."

The kind waitress reappeared again, handing Fiyero a box for his food with a tired smile. He paid her, tipping her more money than he truly could afford but he didn't really care. Funny, it seems you are your loudest when you whisper and the least graceful when you are trying to be delicate. It had begun to rain outside and Fiyero slipped in the doorway, causing a small ruckus. Boq's head popped up and he was able to clearly see Fiyero's face. Fiyero froze for a second before picking himself up and rushing out the door, before he caught Nessarose's attention.

Fiyero ran most of the way home without looking back. Although Elphaba did come home early, he did not try to get her to go out and instead encouraged her to stay in. On an impulse he did not tell her who he had seen or what had almost happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Ha. I'm taking the chance to write some Fiyeraba fluff while it's still available. Yes, that was supposed to sound a little ominous.

Any one else excited for the new TV show, Glee?

* * *

The Resistance cell Fiyero and Elphaba were part of had not been enthused about a married couple's desire to join up. They also had no desire to turn two young, able-bodied, and able-minded people away. So they had made an allowance for the two of them, on the condition that their marriage never get in the way of their work. One way to do this was to make sure they were never put on the same mission. They were worried (perhaps rightfully, particularly when it came to Fiyero) that one of them would throw an assignment to protect their loved one, or they would be preoccupied with the other and would make a stupid, careless mistake.

That, plus the fact that they were now aware that Elphaba was expecting, meant that she had very little to do. She had insisted on not being taken off of the assignment she had been working on, but they refused to assign her anything new other than the occasional lookout duty that would not require any physical exertion whatsoever.

So, as she had for over two weeks, she stayed home, waiting for her husband. Not for the first time, she came to the conclusion that being a housewife would never be for her, especially if she was left alone so often.

_You won't have any time to yourself soon, _a voice seemed to whisper to her. _You're going to have a squalling infant to take care of. You are never going to be bored again. Aren't you thrilled? _In truth, she was happy to be having a baby. She liked children well enough, and the fact that she had actually _made _a child with Fiyero was exhilarating. She didn't mind the idea of taking care of a baby, even midnight feedings and dirty diapers.

She was just terrified that she was going to screw it all up horribly. This little person was going to be completely dependent on her. Thank Oz for Fiyero. Hopefully he would be able to undo whatever damage she was sure to do. He'd grown up in a normal family (well, a royal family, but that was more normal than her own upbringing). He would know what to do better than she would. He always seemed to do the right thing. He calmed himself foolish and always said she was the brains of the relationship, but it was him who knew what to do in a crisis, him who knew what to do when it really counted.

She'd written a letter to Glinda, telling her. She was yet to receive a reply- she had to be very careful whenever she wrote to her best friend. The timing had to be right so no one would pick up on the upper class lady corresponding with someone in the Emerald City slums. They hadn't seen each other in years, so the occasional letter was cherished. It was usually weeks between letters, but it was better than nothing.

She wondered what Glinda would say. Probably squeal and insist on being named Godmother, even though there was a big chance she would never even see the child and Elphaba had no interest in any sort of God. Of course, Elphaba would give in to sate her. Then, in the meantime she would insist on buying Elphaba only the most fashionable of maternity dresses as well as buying the baby more clothing than he or she would ever be able to wear.

Elphaba missed her best friend more than she wished to admit.

Her nostalgic mood was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. It was too late for company to come calling (and company rarely did, anyway). With a slight feeling of panic she ran to the door and opened it, relaxing slightly when she saw Fiyero. The fact that he was being supported by two other members of the Resistance was much less comforting. "What the hell happened?" she asked, feeling the edge of anxiety in her voice.

"He'll be fine, Fae," said one of them before she was able to work herself up to a full blown freak out. "He just decided to be daring, or stupid, depending on who is telling the story. We were poking around in an alley near the palace, looking... well, you don't need to know who we were looking for, and he decided to try and get a better look by climbing up the rusted fire escape of a conveniently located building. Of course, when the certain someone came out on the balcony of the palace, your husband realized he was in plain sight and that he had to get down quickly. He tried to rush and fell most of the way. Landed badly and fucked his ankle up. Had a doctor look at him, said he'll be alright, but he'll be limping for awhile and will be out of commission for a couple of weeks."

The other man gave her a smile as they helped Fiyero hobble to the couch. "Nothing to really worry about, just keep him on the couch. He'll be even more dopey than normal, that's due to the painkillers Doc gave him." He propped a set of crutches against the wall and they were all glad that a local doctor was a part of the Resistance force.

She nodded, feeling calmer and led the two of them to the door. Locking it behind them, she tried very hard to suppress a giggle. It didn't work very well. "What?" he asked from the couch indigently.

"Nothing," she said, but the relieved laughter was growing. "It's just... I thought you were the graceful one! And you... _fell_... pulling a stunt to be expected from a twelve year old." The giggling overcame her and she couldn't speak. He glared at her, pouting. "And I'm sorry, but when I heard the pounding on the door I was sure you had been murdered or something... I will gladly deal with a broken ankle."

He tried to look tough, but he winced when he moved his foot. "I'm too mean to be murdered," he said.

That got a hearty laugh from her. "Yeah, right, my Yero." She sat down on the couch, and pulled him down so his head rested against her lap, against the baby bump that was becoming more pronounced. "You're about as mean as a puppy dog," she said lovingly. "But that's why I love you."

He squeezed her hand. "You're right, but it would take an army to separate me from you," he said.

"That one I can believe very easily," Then she surprised them both with a decidedly mushy sentiment. "I've been thinking about the baby a lot," she admitted.

He grinned. "Well, well, Miss Elphaba. The maternal instinct I've been waiting so patiently for has finally kicked in?"

She crossed her arms and grew stiff and rigid. "If you tease me we aren't discussing the fetus in my womb again until it comes out, bloody and screaming."

He flinched. "Kidding, kidding... so what exactly have you been thinking about?"

She smiled. "I've been thinking that I hope the baby is a lot like you. Mostly because I don't think this world could withstand two of me. And that I'm a little terrified of being a mother."

He brought her hand to his lips. "Nothing to be afraid of. I've never been a father. We'll figure the parenting thing out together," he promised. "And a miniature me could be fun," he said with a hint of mischief.

"Never mind. My hair will be solid gray before I'm thirty," but she laughed. "Let's go to bed," she suggested and helped him to their bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Fall faded quickly into winter, and as it did Fiyero grew more and more restless, cooped up at home. He was flipping through the newspaper on Lurlinemas Eve, wondering what exactly Elphaba was _doing _in their bedroom. "Fae?" he called out to her, becoming slightly concerned that it was possible that she'd finally become completely exasperated with him and had decided to leave him, via the fire escape. "What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing!"

Although he was aware that her response came a little too quickly and there was an odd quality to her voice, he dropped it in an effort to avoid the argument they were sure to have if he questioned her further. He went back to the paper, thumbing through it, but couldn't really focus on it and looked up as soon as she stepped into the main room of the apartment, looking guilty. Wincing, knowing that resisting the argument would now be impossible, he just asked, "What is it?"

"I promise this won't take long. I'll be back before midnight."

For a minute he badly wanted to just pretend that his lovely little pregnant wife was running over to the grocery store to buy a bottle of milk. He wanted to pretend that really badly. But he was very aware that if she were just going to the store she would only be gone for about a half hour, not several hours. And the store had been closed for a few hours already. And when she was just going to the store, she didn't swath herself in head-to-toe black like some sort of religious woman. And she didn't hide a gun in the folds of her skirt.

So he couldn't pretend, and the only word that would come out of his mouth was a sad, depressed, disbelieving, "No."

"I promise I'll be careful," she said, wringing her hands, reaching for him.

He twisted in his seat. "Elphaba, no. It's Lurlinemas Eve."

She sat down beside him on the couch, as tense as a spring. "And I will be home all day on Lurlinemas, and every day after that. This is it, the end of my last mission. You knew I was doing this."

He didn't back down and couldn't look at her. "I didn't know you'd be leaving in the middle of the night on Lurlinemas Eve."

"What differance does it make what day it is? You know this buisness as well as I do, why weren't you expecting this?" She touched his cheek and her voice was very soft. "Everything will be fine, I will be home before you know it." She attempted to kiss him, but he turned away from her.

"Stop it." He took a deep breath and counted to ten. He wasn't angry with her, and didn't want her to think he was. "I'm not happy about this, but I guess that doesn't change anything, does it?" He looked at her but she wouldn't meet his eye and had an expression that resembled guilt. "Go, I know you're going to, no matter what I say to you."

"Fiyero-"

He cut her off, raising her chin so he could look her in the eye. "Go, I don't want you to be late. Just promise me you will be more careful than you've ever been before. I love you too much to lose you."

"I love you too," she said as she leaned forward to kiss him gently. She got up off the couch, checking that her clothing covered enough of her skin, and more importantly concealed her weapon. She headed to the door, but slowly.

He would have let her go if he didn't see the slight hesitation of fear as she hovered in the doorway. She let one hand graze her stomach, and glanced back at him. She gave him a smile, but he knew it was fake. He knew her very well, and was perhaps the only one who could see past her brave, bold facade. She was afraid of something but was not going to tell him about.

And so, although he knew it broke every single rule the Resistance had, although he knew he was still supposed to be resting his ankle and his mobility was limited, although she would be angry with him for coddling her, he followed her.

* * *

_Eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven..._

In order to occupy her mind, she counted her steps as she casually walked into the square outside the theatre. She had no idea when she'd _started_ counting her steps, well no, she must have started _eighty-eight, eighty-nine _steps previous. It would be easy, she'd been getting ready for this for months- at least five because it was before she'd realized she was going to have a baby.

Frankly, she was a little comforted that she was afraid. If she had been completely calm about killing her former teacher, she would have been more than disturbed with her own mental health.

She touched the loaded gun hidden under her dress. This would be easy- she had the easy part, for Lurline's sake! All she had to do was make her way to the top of the building via a sturdy staircase, locate Morrible as she walked into the theatre, and fire. It didn't even matter if Morrible died or not. Even if she missed, as long as it caused enough of a ruckus to distract the police from the small, ragtag group of terrorists making their way into the palace, aiming to murder the Wizard, hoping at least to kill several members of his inner circle. All she was doing was making a distraction- as soon as the gun went off she would duck inside the building that served as their safe house. She would change her clothes inside, and would walk home, carefully playing up the 'innocent expectant mother caught in the wrong place at the wrong time' angle.

Which is exactly what she did. She had no idea if she even hit Madame Morrible, but even if she didn't she had certiantly caused enough of a disturbance. She ducked into the building without looking at what she'd done, waived to another young woman who was a member of the Resistance, dropped the gun, and changed her clothes. She took a deep breath and walked out of the building, carefully avoiding the chaotic square.

She was in the clear, but something made her turn around, just to look over her shoulder.

She saw that the Gale Force was definitely mobilizing, was better organized than anticipated. They had gathered everyone in the square who looked halfway suspicious at gunpoint.

And her dear, brave, loving, foolish husband had followed her. And he was caught with the rest, being led away somewhere.

She froze like a frightened deer, and he saw her, had been watching her. As much as it pained her to turn away from him for what she knew would be the last time, she did, because that was what he would have wanted her to do. She ran like hell and didn't look back, cursing the extra weight she carried and the tears streaming down her face.

Later she would learn that the mission had been a failure. Madame Morrible died a few months later, but it had nothing to do with a gunshot wound, she hadn't even been grazed, although a bystander had been hit by the stray bullet. The other terrorists were stopped by the Gale Force before they made their way inside the palace and were executed.

Yet Elphaba could not bring herself to care.


	5. Chapter 5

I know this chapter is on the short side... but it moves the plot forward. And contrary to popular belief, plots make stories better. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, I have quite a roller coaster in store for you all if you stick with me.

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Southstairs. Some of Oz had no idea the massive underground prison even existed, primarily because no prisoners who were sent there ever were released. Of course, a few were eventually able to break free. But that was a very, very few. Most who were sent to the prison were never heard from again. Calling it a prison belittled it. The structure was an entire underground city, a society made up of the world's cast-offs. Murderers, rapists, thieves, traitors, terrorists, prostitutes and their patrons, drug dealers. Most of the inmates were guilty of one or more of these crimes. Others just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even still, those who resided in Southstairs usually fell to murder and thievery to keep their neck, even if they had been virtuous before. Children were born there, forming a rag-tag little army of squalling pick pockets. The screams of women, their bodies being used against their will, echoed through the facility. Animals being beaten just because of their species.

Fiyero had no idea how long he had been in the prison. It's difficult to keep track of time when you are denied the sun, fed on a random basis, and the only things that seem to come at a regular interval are beatings. He knew it had to have been months- it would have to take months for his body to dwindle to such a skeletal proportion. He'd been tortured for information initially, but hadn't given anything up. He didn't know why they didn't bother to just kill him and be done with it. He wouldn't have objected to it.

Well, that's a lie. A part of him longed for freedom, for his life back. But that part was very, very small. Most of him just wanted an end to it all. He'd never been able to understand why a person would commit suicide before, but now he knew. He had even once aided in a fellow inmate's voluntary death. He wasn't ashamed of it, and although he had been the one to hold the blade while his friend ran on it, he didn't think himself guilty of the murder.

And there was another reason why he hesitated to end his life. The rumors that circulated, buzzing in his ear like a bee, a fly, a gnat fluttering in his face, refusing to die. The stories varied, but all were about a woman, a green skinned woman. Some claimed she was beautiful, a seductress, a siren. Others described her as a wretched hag. The woman or Witch, as some chose to call her, was a warrior. She would appear out of nowhere, wrecking havoc. Usually, she was just an inconvenience. Minor spells, vandalizing, theft of government offices, threats. But at least once she had killed. The stories varied. Some claimed she had killed one man in a rage. Some claimed she had killed an entire squadron of men serving in the Gale Force. Most of the rumors floated somewhere in between.

He knew it was Elphaba, his Elphaba, the only green skinned woman in all of Oz. The stories frightened him, half because he was afraid she was going to get herself killed, half because he was truly afraid of what she had become and what she was capable of doing. The stories all described a vengeful woman- a revenging Angel or murderous harpy by turns. There was also a more personal fear; none of the stories ever described her as pregnant, or as the mother of a small child. Had the baby died before birth or after? Or had she merely carefully hidden it away?

Or, the most painful possibility, to Fiyero anyway, had she abandoned it?

They called her the Wicked Witch of the West, as she was the sister of Munchkinland's Governor, who had been rebaptised the Wicked Witch of the East. Where the elder sister struck terror, the younger was a political tyrant. In a way, Fiyero, as well as several other inmates in his cell-block, could have thanked Nessarose Thropp for his freedom. She hated the Wizard of Oz as much as her sister did and was able to break Munchkinland free from the Wizard's rule.

As Munchkinlanders were no longer Oz's citizens, they were no longer protected by Oz's laws. All Southstairs inmates who appeared to be of Munchkinlander decent were executed. In the chaos, Fiyero and several others were able to break free. He smiled to himself as he began his trek toward the southern Gilliken home of the now married Glinda and Avaric, the only safe haven that Fiyero had a chance of reaching.


	6. Chapter 6

He knew he gave the maid a shock when he pounded on the door of the mansion belonging to the young Margreave of Tenmeadows and his wife. Clothes torn and filthy, and months without the option of personal hygiene made it clear he wasn't one to be messed with; it was obvious he was an escaped convict. The poor girl was probably scared out of her wits when he said, "I need to speak with the Margreave."

She was timid. "He's in a meeting with a lord from Gillikin, and will be for a few hours." She straightened up, probably wishing to seem authoritative. "And I don't believe the two of you have business with each other."

"Miss, please. You are right, this isn't a business call, it is a personal one. If I can't speak with him, is his wife available? Miss... well, I suppose that would be Lady Glinda, now. Please."

She made her way to shut the door. "Sir, please just go, I don't think you belong here-"

"And I never said I did, just that I have friends here. And I won't leave until I speak with one of them. Please, please just tell the Lady..." he wracked his brain, trying to come up with something that would make Glinda realize it was him, but not tip off the maid. He knew he wasn't particularly recognizable, but he was afraid he would be discovered. "Tell the Lady a _perfect_ old friend of hers wishes to see her as soon as possible."

The maid stared him down, but eventually relented. "I will tell her, but if she wishes not to see a visitor, you will not be admitted. Understood?"

"Crystal clear."

She shut the door, retreating the the house where she did not have to speak with strange men in a grave need of a shower and a shave. A few minutes later, the door swung back open. Glinda went from reserved to shocked to relieved quicker than he could blink. Before he knew it, her arms were clasped around his neck and she gasped, "Thank Oz you're alive!" She grabbed his hand, pulling him inside. "Renna, tell my husband that we have a very important guest waiting in the Yellow Sitting Room, one he'll want to see immediately... and take our guest there, immediately. Thank you," she said spinning on her heal toward the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Fiyero asked, slightly dismayed at her parting.

She smiled. "There's something I need to show you," and positively ran up the stairs, her very high heels not slowing her down a bit.

The maid, who was apparently named Renna showed him to the Yellow Sitting Room, cringed when he sat down on the pristine upholstery, and told him she would fetch her master. Minutes later, Avaric appeared, as poised and arrogant as ever. It took him a second to recognize him, but then there was smile accompanied by, "What the hell happened to you, Prince?"

"Shh! I don't want anyone to recognize me!"

Avaric sat down in a plush chair. "Trust me, no one is going to recognize you." Behind him, Fiyero heard the door open. "There she is," Avaric said, gesturing to Glinda. She held a bundle in her arms, which she deposited into Fiyero's arms as she sat down next to him.

"Meet your daughter," she explained as Fiyero took in the miniature person. "She... Elphaba brought her to me about six months ago. She said she was about three weeks old and had named her Laelia." There was a bit of tightness to her voice as she continued. "She told me that no matter how much she wanted to raise the baby herself, she couldn't. Her life wasn't safe enough or stable enough for a child. She asked us to raise her as to adopt her because we could give the baby a life she couldn't."

"She made the right decision," Fiyero said, not looking up from the girl. "And it's... still the right decision for her." It hurt him to say it, but he knew that he had no way of raising his daughter, either.

"She looks like you," Avaric piped up. "Or at least, she looks like what you used to look like," he amended, getting up to poke Fiyero's shoulder. Laelia was blue eyed, as most infants are and had the beginnings of blonde hair. Her skin was creamy tan (Elphaba had probably been more than thankful that her daughter would not be forced to put up with the treatment she had been forced to because of her skin).

He asked the question his friends were waiting for, "Where is Elphaba?"

"It's been almost a year since you... She thought you were dead, she told us so when she brought Laelia here. After that she went on a rampage. She killed a couple of Gale Force officers. Guess she blamed them for your death. She burned a few buildings, government labs. She put spells... you know, like what Morrible had tried to teach her at Shiz? Anyway, she put spells on some of the troops, messing with them and their weapons. Eventually she went to her sister. Nessarose... I don't what got into her. She's put a lock down on Munchkinland, not letting anyone-anyone but Elphaba, anyway- leave. She rules with an iron fist. And Elphaba eggs her on, mostly because Nessarose opposes the Wizard as much as she does."

"She's changed, Fiyero. Both of them have, really. I don't understand it, especially from Elphie. She always claims she's just looking for justice, but nothing that's going on in Munchkinland is just. It may be free from the Wizard, but they aren't free from Nessa. I don't know what to do."

He finally looked away from his daughter. "We contact her, we make her come here. I'll talk to her, get her to see that what she's doing isn't right."

Avaric gently chided him. "Fiyero, no. I don't want you to be disappointed. Elphaba is _gone._ You are never going to have the girl you married back, you aren't going to be able to get that life back."

Fiyero kissed Laelia's brow, putting her back in Glinda's arms. "I know that, Av. But I still might be able to get through to her, and through her to Nessarose. We might be able to turn all this around, but I need to see her- more importantly, she needs to see _me_. I know I'm not going to be able to have the wife, two kids, a house, and a dog. Maybe I could've at one point, but not now. But I still love her and I know that she- Elphaba, not any sort of Witch- is still in there. And she'll listen to me."

Glinda sent a look to Avaric, but nodded. "We'll see what we can do to get her here. She's the only one Nessa lets come and go. The Wizard doesn't like people going back and forth either, but she doesn't care what he says to her."

"Rest up, you have your choice of guest rooms. The baby's room is next to ours.. even if we are going to be her par... I know you'll still want to see her."

He nodded, moving to the door. They stood together, the perfect young couple, family complete with a beautiful child. He had to remind himself not to be bitter or jealous, but there was still a pang of something there. He showed, enjoying the scalding hot water. After he shaved he looked at his face hard in the mirror. Avaric had said that it had been a little less than a year since he had gone to Southstairs. From his face it seemed like so much more time had passed. A scar slashed across his face, marring his hairline. In the jail they had kept his hair cropped shorter than he preferred, he was eager for it to grow back. He was too thin, looked sickly. Even his eyes were changed, though that may have just been due to his gaunt appearance and lack of sleep. Avaric had not been kidding when he had said that he was unrecognizable.

He changed his clothes and sat on the edge of the surprisingly soft bed, his mind whirling. Avaric and Glinda had spoken of Elphaba with near fear of what she was capable of. And Nessarose challenged the Wizard as a dictator. What had happened to her? Fiyero knew it must have had something to do with what he had seen in that cafe, the day he'd witnessed the argument between her and Boq. Apparently things had only gotten worse since then.

He fell into a restless sleep out of nessesity, too tired to even dream.


	7. Chapter 7

The dark figure landed in the middle of the estate's courtyard late in the evening, but not before all of the servants had turned in for the night. The feminine figure on the broomstick was apprehended by a few teenaged stable hands, eager to be the hero and sadly disappointed when the master of the house ordered them to go inside to their rooms. "But, sir... she's a criminal, the Wizard of Oz says so," said one of them.

Avaric reached forward and grabbed a thin green arm, one he could have easily snapped in two if he were so inclined. "She is also the sister of the Governor of Munchkinland, and an old friend of my wife's. She is not to be harmed in our household and _no one_ is to speak of her being here. I will deal with her privately. Not a word from the either of you, understood? Tell the rest of the house exactly what I've told you just now and nothing else on the subject."

The two of them, boys too young to be called men, frowned but consented and walked into the house. Once they were out of earshot, Avaric turned to her. "Lovely seeing you, Mrs. Tigelaar, but most of our guests enter through the front door, and come calling a bit earlier in the day."

He didn't get the rise out of her that he had intended, just a desperate, tired response. "Where is my daughter, Avaric?"

He felt a bit of guilt at her sadness. The plan to lure her to them had been Glinda's, slightly cruel but surefire. All it had required on their part was a bit of lying and acting. The rumor mill that was the world did the rest. Still, he felt guilt at it's success. All the same, the lies had server their purpose. "She's fine, Elphaba," he said as she started toward the house. She whirled around, the long dark hair whipping around her face in the wind.

"What are you saying?" she asked, her voice quivering with hope, something she had had very little of in the past year.

He squeezed her hand, half because she looked ready to throw up, half to keep her from running off. "We had to get you to come to us, quickly, without announcing your intentions."

She pulled away from him. "You let everyone believe your adopted child, the daughter I gave to the two of you to raise, was dying? You lied to me about my daughter's health to take advantage of me? That is sick!" She struck him, but he didn't really feel it and she wasn't really trying to hurt him. Besides, without the aid of magic or a weapon, she was harmless. Stick thin, her blows didn't harm him. "You fucking bastard!"

He reached in to the mess of flailing limbs to hold her still. "Calm down or you'll make _yourself _sick. I promise you, Laelia is fine, I'll take you to her right now." She nodded and he led her into the house through a back door.

She smiled a little when he showed her the soft, clean nursery. Laelia was asleep in her crib, and Elphaba could barely keep herself from picking her up and waking her. The child was so much bigger than she had been when her mother had last seen her, and even more beautiful. The white wood crib was dressed with light pink fabric, obviously Glinda's doing. Elphaba realized her hand was shaking as she reached forward to touch the baby's cheek, lightly so not to disturb her. Once she was satisfied that there truly was nothing wrong with the little girl, she pulled herself away from her and glared at Avaric. "So what is so important, what do I have to see so badly that you would lie to everyone so I would think my daughter was dying?"

"I'll bring him here, you won't believe me if I just tell you. Wait here," he said as he gestured to a rocking chair. He left the room, pausing to knock on one of the doors before continuing on his way.

Glinda emerged from the door he had knocked on, slowly moving into the room. "Elphie?" Her best friend didn't answer her, but it didn't matter to the Lady of the House, she just reached for her hand. "I'm sorry we lied to you, but I promise it was for the better. Your own good." The hand she gripped was so bony, too thin. Although Elphaba had been living in her well off sister's house, she still had the look of a starving wanderer. Glinda didn't know, but she suspected that she had little will to live and rarely bothered to eat. Hopefully that would change soon. "She's gorgeous, you know. Avaric jokes that he'll have to invest in a shotgun by she time she turns thirteen just to keep the boys away. And very calm. Not very fussy at all, only cries when she needs something. Such a good baby."

Elphaba smiled a little but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I don't know what I would have done if she died, Glinda. She's all that I have left of him." She didn't see Glinda bite the edge of her lip as she said it. "One day... one day I want her to know... maybe if it's safe, if it won't upset her to much to know that her mother was the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Is. Is the Wicked Witch of the West. Although I don't really agree with the title, it is yours. And Laelia is your child."

Elphaba pushed away so she could get up and look out the window. "No, you are. You are the one she cries for, you are the one who watches her grow up and tends to her scrapes. You will be the one she cries to when she gets her heart broken. You're the one she'll call Mother, not me. I just birthed her. That's not the reason I adore her, it's because of Fiyero."

A knock against the door frame, two men approached the nursery. One was Avaric, the other...

Elphaba had a passing thought that she was glad she did not have the baby in her arms. Her world spun, whirling before her vision faded to black. "Yero?" she was able to gasp before she fell to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

A nice long chapter... you know what? I wrote the second half of this chapter before I even published this story's predecessor As If By Magic... yes, I do plan very far in advance. Is it comforting to know that there is a method to my madness?

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She must have only had passed out for a few seconds, because they had not yet moved her to a more comfortable bed. Her head was cradled in Glinda's lap; she would later learn that she had nearly cracked her skull open on the edge of the crib if Glinda hadn't caught her in time. The world still spun; she had a pounding headache and felt like she was going to throw up, but she pushed herself up, out of her best friend's arms, lurching toward the man she was sure had to have been a ghost. "Fiyero?" her voice came out in a whisper- she couldn't get enough oxygen to be able to make more sound than that. "Is it really you?"

He wrapped his arms around her, so they both knew the other was there. He had a strong need just to touch her. "Yes, Fae, it's me, I'm still here."

He could feel her fingertips on his face, tracing the scars that had not been there when she had seen him last. The face was still familiar to her, but barely. "What's happened to you? Why are you even alive?

"They took me to Southstairs, but they didn't kill me." He smiled at her. "Remember? I told you it would take more than an army to keep me away from you."

She could feel tears building up. She hated to cry, but the surplus of emotions was getting to her. While she realized that she was in a situation where crying would probably be perfectly acceptable, she felt the need to hide her tears, burying her face in his shoulder. She could feel his hands in her hair and hear what had to be Glinda, sniffling at the tender moment from across the room. She had no desire to go anywhere, anywhere that had even the possibility of tearing the two of them apart.

But just then was not the time for being sentimental. As she was sure her friends had hoped, she finally had a feeling of clarity. She pushed away from him, begining to pace the room even before she said, "Oh no... Nessa." Her head dropped into her hands and she didn't need to explain further. Her friends all knew what had happened.

"We'll figure out something to do, Elphaba," said Avaric, not particularly wanting to deal with a meltdown.

She stopped her pacing her a moment. "I taught her magic, what I could. She doesn't have the natural gift, but she had and still has the will to learn. She's a loose cannon, never knowing if a spell she casts really worked or not, or if it worked how she wanted it to. She killed one of her servants once that way. She'd lost her temper, the spell was magnified by her annoyance. He combusted, disappearing into a cloud of smoke... there wasn't even a body. And the truly frightening part of it all was, she didn't seem to care much."

Avaric nodded, understanding. "So there's our problem. An uncontrollable Witch with a short fuse ruling an entire nation... you know, I never thought Nessarose was particularly power hungry."

Fiyero shook his head. "That's because she isn't, or wasn't anyway. She just didn't want to be abandoned and the easiest way for her to prevent that was to enslave all of Munchkinland. She couldn't make Boq love her, but she could keep him from ever leaving her." Elphaba's forehead crinkled in surprise, and before she had a chance to question him, he continued. "One day before... before. One day I saw the two of them out to eat in the City. They were horrible to each other. I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't have the heart to tell you."

She moved back to the window, sitting against the ledge. "And she's only gotten worse since then... and since she opposed the Wizard as much as I did, I egged her on." She let her head tip back so it rested against the cool glass. "I know she can't be allowed to rule, but I-" she cut herself off in an effort to control herself. "I can't oppose her, she's still my baby sister."

"And you won't have to," Glinda assured her, speaking up for the first time since Fiyero had appeared. "We will think of something, but it can wait until morning." She inclined her head toward the door. "Go, catch up with each other. The world won't end before sunrise, and if it does you can all blame me." She walked over and took Elphaba's arm, leading her away from the window. "Say goodnight to the baby and get reacquainted with the man you love."

Surprisingly, Elphaba didn't protest. She pressed a feather-light kiss against Laelia's forehead and let Fiyero lead her out of the room, down the hallway into the guest room he had been sleeping in. Although she had prepared herself for the worst, she was pleasantly surprised: the room wasn't particularly extravagant. Yes the fabrics were expensive, as was the fine hardwood on the floor, but nothing extreme. She smiled a little as she watched him remove his boots and his shirt, like she had so many times before. Catching her, her laughed a little. "Were you never taught it's impolite to stare?"

"No one bothered teaching me much of anything, other than to keep quiet and stay out of the way." She ran her hand over his chest. He was so much thinner than he had once been, too lean. While she was sure Glinda was already working very hard to repair his damaged health, she was concerned. Her fingertips raised a few fine scars across his chest, like the one on his face that ran from his hairline to his cheek. She nudged him so he turned. The scars on his back were worse, from all different times. Some looked to have been very recent. She leaned against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What?" she murmured, but was incapable of finding the right words.

"Don't worry about it I'm fine, I promise. I'm just a little worse for the ware. You'll still love me, won't you?"

She smiled at that. "Do you really think I fell in love with you for your looks? You flatter your former self a little too much." She reached behind herself to undo the ties of her dress, let it drop to the floor. She sat on the edge of the bed in her chemise. "You're still beautiful, you know."

He rolled his eyes and sat down beside her on the bed, leaning back and pulling her down with him. "And it would be impossible for you not to be beautiful to me."

She rolled over so she was on top of him and could use his chest as a pillow. "You know, there was no major... catastrophe when I returned to society, my sister was glad to see me. And your family adored you. I'm sure-"

He sat up quickly, jostling her. "Fae, stop. Please, don't tempt me. I can't go back to being Fiyero, Vinkun Prince. That's not me anymore. I wouldn't want to be that person again, and I don't think I could be if I tried. The only bad thing is that this way, I cannot be with you, not the way I want to."

"I know," she murmurred as she entwined her fingers with his, not wanting to stop touching him. "But sometimes I wonder what would have became of you if I hadn't been so reckless. What if we had just gone home and we got married in a church or whatever, you got to inherit your title and we had about six kids?"

"Then you wouldn't have been really happy. Not with what we know. You'd never be able to play the Princess, wife, and mother knowing that the Wizard was behind the Animal Banns."

Quietly, in a little half voice, one that she only ever let him hear and no one else, "I was going to try to, for you, for Laelia, and any other children we might have eventually had. I was going to try, maybe not the princess part, but I was willing to be just a wife and mother. I wasn't doing too badly, was I? I mean, I hadn't had a chance to be a mother yet, but as a wife? Was I going about things the right way? Loving you the right way? I didn't mess up?"

"No, sweetheart. You can do anything you set out to, if there's anything I know, it's that you're unstoppable. But you wouldn't have been happy, and then I wouldn't have been either." His words were very quiet as she rested in his arms. Her left hand moved into the moonlight and for the first time he noticed that she was not wearing her wedding ring. "Your ring?" he questioned, but backed off. "I mean, it's fine.. You thought I was dead, of course you wouldn't..."

"Shh!" she whispered, reaching into her chemise. She produced a silver chain, from which hung her ring. "In Munchkinland it's the custom for a widow or widower to wear their wedding ring on a chain, next to their heart until they have moved on and are willing to look for a new partner... I never planned to stop wearing my ring, Fiyero. Never. After Mama died, Papa wore his ring like this, I suppose until his own death. Nessa doesn't have it so he was probably buried with it. I intended to do the same."

She poked around in the drawers, and sure enough found a necklace, probably left by a wealthy friend of Glinda and Avaric. She slid off the gaudy pendent, laying it back in the drawer and handed it to Fiyero. He nodded, understanding. "We'll never be together like that again, our marriage is over," he said, sliding the ring off his hand and onto the chain. "But I will always love you as much as I did the day it began." She clasped it behind his neck, letting the ring fall beneath his shirt so it could rest against his heart.

"I know. I love you, too," She kissed him then, eager to end the somber mood. "Let's make up for lost time, shall we?" She asked, and they drowned in each other, finally happy after a year separated.


	9. Chapter 9

She had surprised them all by leaving the next afternoon, claiming that she had to go to her sister and keep an eye on her. Fiyero and Glinda both had protested, saying she should be able to safely stay for a week or so, but she hadn't listened to them.

She flew over Oz during the day, odd because she normally preferred to fly at night. She'd come up with a spell to enchant a broomstick to fly, like a Witch from a storybook. She knew it was reckless, dangerous, but she didn't mind it much. She liked the feeling of being literally above all of Oz. It had given her peace in the past- no one could touch her when she flew.

But as she flew over the border between Oz and Munchkinland, no peace came to her. The border was patrolled by guards on both sides, one army in green, the other in bright blue. A high fence, spiked with barbed wire ran the entire length of the border, broken up by a few large gates, for military purposes. Munchkinland had always seemed to suffer from a drought when Elphaba was a little girl, but now everything seemed so much worse. People starved, grew weak, died. And the living all had a hollow look to their eyes. For the first time she felt like Munchkinland could not survive much longer under the rule of Nessarose.

Her bedrooom was on the second floor of the mansion, with a large balcony for her to land the broom on. It was actually the same room she had slept in as a child, and it was still decorated just as it had been the day she had left for Shiz. Although it was very late and she had spent most of the day flying, she felt the need to at least check in with her sister. She walked down the stairs, noticing for the first time the way the servants avoided her, wouldn't even look her in the eye. She realized it was not the way most people had avoided her all of her life- it wasn't because they were disgusted by her, it was because they were afraid of her.

She was agitated by the time she reached Nessarose's room, and the fact that Boq was exiting it and locking the door behind him didn't help. "Miss Elphaba, your sister has turned in for the night, and told me she wishes to be alone. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to do the same."

She stared at him, wondering when exactly he had gone from being her sister's boyfriend to being nothing more than one of the servants at Colwen Grounds. When she didn't say anything, he cleared his throat and prompted her, "Miss Elphaba? If you please?"

He was waiting for her to dismiss him, but she didn't. "I'm so sorry," she said, instead.

"What for?" he asked, confused. "Your sister has a headache, but I'm fairly certain you were not the cause of it."

She almost smiled, "Not for that, for... everything. For so long I did nothing but encourage her in what she was doing. I was so glad she was on my side, she opposed the Wizard. I didn't care what she actually did as long as she supported me against the Wizard. Only now can I see that this is just as bad, she is just as bad as him. That I am just as bad as him."

He was flabbergasted. "What's gotten into you? Where did this all come from?"

She considered telling him the truth, she had just seen her daughter, happy and healthy. She had seen Fiyero, who in fact had never died. "Does it matter? I was wrong and I know that now. I want to fix things, not only for the Animals, but for the Munchkins. I need to fix things and I can't do it alone."

"And why exactly should I believe you?"

She was surprised, having expected him to be pleased at her revelation. She sputtered, "I... when have you known me to lie?" She squeezed his shoulder. "Alright, Boq, I have no good reason for you to believe me. Don't believe me then, but without your help I don't know if I'll get anything done. But if you do... Nessa will listen to you if you stop treating her like a slave driver and treat her like a person!"

He didn't flinch at her anger rising up. "I treat her that way because she acts like one! But because I'm sure I have nothing to loose, I'll help you. I'll do whatever you need me to do, although I do not trust you. I don't know what's gotten into you, but before you were as much a tyrant as anyone else in this world."


	10. Chapter 10

For the next several months, Elphaba traveled to Glinda and Avaric's home on a nearly weekly basis. Occasionally she would stay for a night, but frequently she flew there and back on the same day. The only week she had missed a visit was that of Laelia's first birthday-that week she spent bitterly at home, hurting. She knew it couldn't last forever, her trying to both protect her sister and keep her from causing any more harm. Boq was helpful, at least in pacifying her, but he pressured her to take some sort of action. And on the other side, Fiyero, Avaric, and Glinda were uneasy, knowing something needed to be done but not knowing what that was.

Furthermore, Nessarose did not appreciate Elphaba's frequent visits to the other side. She had to protest, claiming that it was merely to visit Glinda, nothing more than to see an old friend. Her sister had not approved, leading to a screaming match between them.

It was a few days after that fight that Elphaba walked through the Emerald Palace in the middle of the night with Avaric. Due to his high rank, Avaric had spent nights in the Emerald Palace and had a vague idea of the layout, and was aware of the fact that the Wizard's private chambers were just off of his throne room. They were easy enough to find, but it was taxing on Elphaba to magically knock out the guards stationed outside his room.

One of the ways she was able to convince her friends to let her sister be was that they had bigger enemies to deal with. Primarily, the Wizard. Although Elphaba had wanted to go alone, they had all insisted someone go with her and Avaric had elected to. Fiyero would have preferred to go himself, but Elphaba had refused to let that happen, saying she would be too preoccupied with his well being to finish the job. So Avaric went with her, mostly to act as a lookout.

She didn't know what she had expected when they reached his bed chamber. She had only ever seen the disembodied head he used to frighten his visitors. The sleeping man was elderly, older than her deceased father. He didn't like he could hurt a fly, much less imprison millions. She whirled around, running into Avaric who caught her and mouthed "Just do it," to her.

She nodded, remembering her task- to finally kill the Wizard of Oz and be done with it. She smoothed her hair out of her face and fingered the handle of the blade hidden in her cloak. She looked up at Avaric to make sure he was at his station beside the door, carefully watching for anyone who might pass by. As she turned back to the sleeping man, something caught her eye.

A small bottle sat on a nearby shelf. The glass was tinted a light shade of green and the bottle was half full of a darker green liquid. The bottle wasn't particularly noteworthy, but it was horribly familiar. It was identical to a small glass bottle that had belonged to Elphaba's mother, a bottle that was still in her possession, locked in her room in Colwen Grounds. She couldn't say why, but the sight of the bottle made her feel horribly sick.

Although she had intended to slit the Wizard's throat while he was sleeping, she felt the need to wake him. She held the blade against his throat as she shook his shoulder, holding him down so he wouldn't accidently kill himself before she had a chance to confront him. His eyes opened in shock, "It's you!" he whispered in a gravely voice, rough with sleep.

"Elphaba, what are you doing?" Avaric gasped from the doorway, not comfortable with her deviating from their plan.

She waived a hand to silence him. "There is a green bottle on your shelf. Where did you get it?"

The Wizard frowned, confused. "I made that bottle, and the elixir inside it... a sort of family recipe, I've been making it since before I came to Oz."

"And is that the only bottle of it you have?"

"Yes," he said, feeling the blade come closer to his throat, "But once I gave a bottle of it away, to a... a friend of mine, a young woman."

She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling the blade away from him. "My mother was named Melena Thropp, is that significant?"

He climbed out of the bed and she didn't stop him, just stared at him. "How old are you, when is your birthday?"

She was already on the verge of collapsing, already knowing the truth. "Twenty-five, I'm twenty-five and I was born on August eighth."

He did the mental math, feeling it was unnecessary as he studied her face and her appearance. He was pale as he said, "Then it's possible that I am your father."

"No!" she yelped, bringing the blade up to kill him but unable now unable to, dropping it to the floor with a loud clatter and falling to the floor.

The Wizard opened his mouth, though whether it was so he could call for the guards to kill them, or to force them to help Elphaba was unknown. That was because Avaric had grabbed the fallen blade and had stabbed the Wizard dead. He pulled the knife out, staring at it in horror as the elderly man crumbled to the ground, stopped breathing. Once he was sure he was dead, Avaric turned. "Get up Elphaba, we have to leave, now."

"I..." she felt sick, and did not feel better as he helped her up. His hands were covered in blood and it stained her skin as well, the sleeve of her dress from where he had touched her.

"I know, I know. But we have to leave now. Fiyero will kill me if something happens to you." He squeezed her hand, not knowing what to say to make her feel better. "We need to leave. Take the broom and go back to your sister, I'll go back home." He studied her face and frowned. "Are you alright to fliy?"

She shook herself to try and clear her head. "Yes, I'll be fine."

"Elphie, you know this doesn't change anything, we still did the right thing." She nodded but didn't say anything else as she kicked off from a window ledge, taking flight. He made his way back to the hotel room he had rented to spend the night in. Both of them were able to return home and were never caught.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, an update! Just wanted to request a little feedback. Reviews have slumped lately...

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The next morning she slowly walked down the stairs that led to her sister's private set of rooms. Nessarose sat in her small dining room, attended by Boq who stood attention nearby, saying, "He was found very early this morning by his guards, all of whom claiming something supernatural happened to them last night. He'd been dead for hours."

Nessa cut off his explanation as her sister walked into the room, smiling blithely. "Fabala, I didn't think you were home, sit," she gestured to the empty chair beside her and motioned for Boq to fill up one of the cups with tea. Elphaba sat down but didn't take a sip of her drink.

"Home is where the heart is, isn't it?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair. Although she knew the answer, she had to ask, as nonchalantly as possible, "What's going on?"

Boq and Nessa exchanged a look, but Nessa went on to say, "The Wizard of Oz is dead, found stabbed to death in his bed this morning. Oz is in a panic."

"Yet the leader of a free-state adjacent to Oz just sits and has her tea like any other day?"

Before Nessarose's temper could flare up, Boq cut in, "Elphaba, you seem tired. Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

She glared at him- his implication was clear. "I didn't kill the Wizard, if that's what you're asking."

Nessa looked surprised at that, but just said, "Either way, it's a good thing for us. Oz is trying to come up with someone to rule in his stead, perhaps temporarily, perhaps permanently."

"Glinda." The name popped out of Elphaba's mouth before she had a chance to think about it.

Her sister frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Margreavess of Tenmeadows, Lady Glinda. She's well liked and respected in Oz. She's always been known to be kind and fair. Publicly she never said a word against the Wizard but privately... well, privately her views on him weren't so kind." She hadn't meant to run a mid morning political campaign for Glinda, but the idea seemed more and more perfect as she explained it. "She'll be able to fix alot of the Wizard's corrupt policies quickly, and with enough grace not to tip off those loyal to the Wizard. She's mentioned to me a desire to improve relations between Munchkinland and Oz. Increasing trade would be beneficial for Munchkinland." She grew nervous, knowing her next statement would either completely turn her sister off from the idea or sell her on it. "We've discussed the possibility of Oz re-annexing Munchkinalnd. She would let you rule how you see fit, but offer us Oz's protection. Think about it, Munchkinland is a small country with a small military. If we had Oz supporting us..."

"You feel strongly about this, don't you?"

She took a deep breath. "Nessie, Glinda is my best friend. I trust her with my life, my secrets," _my child,_ "I trust her with all the political power in Oz."

The two sisters stared at each other for a minute, Elphaba realizing slowly how important this was. Eventually Nessarose smiled, "I think that's a good idea. Munchkinland will back Lady Glinda." Elphaba nodded, getting up to leave but her sister caught her by the sleeve. "Something's still bothering you, Fabala. What is it?"

She shook her off. "I just didn't sleep well last night. I'm going back to my room, come get me if you need anything."

---

She laid down but sleep wouldn't come to her, as it wouldn't very early that morning. Her mind kept spinning. The Wizard of Oz was her father. The Wizard of Oz was dead. Her one mission in her adult life had been to kill him, but when given the opportunity, she froze. Granted, the opportunity was not how she assumed it would be.

The Wizard of Oz was dead. Soon- whether she was a part of it or not- her sister would lose power, possibly even her life. Who would she be when it was over? Everything she had ever aspired to as a child seemed impossible now. Everything she had aspired to as an adult was ending was over. She had truly accomplished nothing- Avaric had killed the Wizard, not her. And she had no desire to take part in removing her sister from power. Her friends would be able to save Oz without her. She had just created more of a mess- taught Nessarose magic, proved incapable when given the opportunity to kill the Wizard. She'd failed even as a wife and mother, unable to fix her relationship with her husband, unable to care for her daughter. She had done nothing.

Nessarose's agreement to support Glinda was a fabulous step forward. Glinda would be a just, fair leader, and would step down as soon as it was safe to. Oz was already on the mend. Munchkinland was too- as soon as someone acted. Part of her wondered if it would be easiest, least painful if she just killed her sister herself. She would accomplish something then, make sure Nessa didn't suffer.

But she couldn't do that.

She reached into the neckline of her dress, pulling out the necklace that held her wedding ring. She didn't allow herself to entertain that possibility, knowing it would only end with someone getting very hurt, again. Still, a part of her felt very alone, a part of her wished he was near again. She cried for a bit, unable to articulate quite why and fell into an uneasy sleep and dreamed of a time long passed.

_"Fabala, play with me," said the pretty, happy five year old._

_Her older sister hesitated, unsure. She pulled at one of her dark braids, a nervous habit. "Papa said I'm supposed to be watching you and helping you. He doesn't like it when I play with your things. He got mad last time"_

_"But I want you to play with me, I said you could." She hands her sister one of her many baby dolls. "He won't get mad, I'll tell him not to. He listens to me." The pretty doll paired with her sister's attention was too much for the seven year old to resist. The two girls played, like any other pair of sisters, blissfully ignorant of what was to come, of who they would become._


	12. Chapter 12

All I have to say is that, to quote Elphaba, there are big doings afoot. I now have been able to tame a plot bunny that has been bothering me for a good year and a half. Expect to see it after this story is finished.

AND I got Stephanie J. Block's CD. It is so fabulous and beautiful and and perfect. I'm serious. I adore her and I adore the CD. Her version of Making Good fed this chapter. My only complaint is the crappy CD case. What is it with the crappy cardboard CD case? Idina's (most recent) CD had a crappy cardboard case, too. Meh. I can't complain too much, she looks stunning on the pictures on the case, and more importantly sounds beautiful... I said that already, but I'm excited.

Oh, HCO? This isn't the 'good stuff' I mentioned to you earlier. Or the 'bad stuff' I mentioned to you earlier.

* * *

It was easy for Oz to take Glinda as their leader, particularly after Nessarose made it clear that the blonde was the only person Munchkinland would honor as a ruler. Before Glinda had even had a chance to take office, she and Nessarose(and Elphaba) were already corresponding.

Glinda did surprise everyone by refusing any new titles, although some were ready to crown her Queen of Oz. She had protested, claiming she was no royal and never had been. The way she insisted she was no different than anyone else only endeared her to the people more. The press renamed her Glinda the Good, because they felt the need to name her something, and she didn't fight it.

A large banquet was thrown in her honor to celebrate her taking power, although Glinda refused to let anyone refer to it as her coronation. Rulers and diplomats came from all over Oz, and the surrounding countries- including Munchkinland. Elphaba had surprised her sister by not wanting to go. All the same, Nessarose had insisted her sister come, and so she was there, along with Boq and a slew of servants shocked to actually be out of Munchkinland for the first time in months.

Glinda looked gorgeous as she greeted her guests. Her long dress was white, accented with gold embroidery along her bodice. A small tiara-like headband held her blonde curls out of her face. Avaric stood proudly at her side, looking handsome, a perfect match for her.

Eventually, as she had wanted, the focus of the party shifted off of her. That was when she poked Elphaba's arm, asking her to accompany her to the powder room- winding up in a guest bedroom of the palace. "Now what does Glinda the Good want with... what was it the Wizard's press was calling Nessa and I? A Wicked Witch?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing. With Nessa."

Elphaba glared at her. "I... I was able to convince her to support you. Maybe in time things won't be so bad, she'll be reasonable? She's already much better than before."

"I'm sure she is," Glinda mused, making Elphaba feel uncomfortable, as if she were being patronized. "But I wonder if it is enough." She squeezed Elphaba's hand, a jarring contrast as she shifted from diplomat to friend. "Av told me about the Wizard, what happened. Are you alright?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't change anything. So what if my father was an evil dictator? So what if my sister is a little girl on a power trip, enslaving those she's supposed to lead?" She smiled, not nicely. "No wonder I was so bad for a while there- it's genetic! Dear Oz, I hope Laelia doesn't take after me."

"She does- you can already tell she's very intelligent. And she's the stubbornest creature I've ever met- even more than you!" Glinda's face lit up as she discussed the child that Oz saw as hers. "She pouted when she realized that she wasn't going to be the center of attention, at least for tonight. Fiyero is with her- his parents are here, he had to hide from them."

Elphaba scowled. "I wish I could've. They blame me for his death." Glinda had led everyone to _most_of the truth. The Arjiki royal family believed Fiyero had faked his death to run off with Elphaba when they were very young, as he had. But they believed that Fiyero truly had died in the Emerald City, as Elphaba had believed.

"You know, if you wanted to... it's safe, the Emerald City is safe. There's nothing you need to hide from, or he needs to. If he wanted to, we could tell everyone the truth- perhaps not about the terrorist group, but that you only thought he was dead. The two of you could get together again, you could remarry."

Elphaba shot off of the bed, annoyed. "Have you discussed this with him?" She asked, knowing Glinda hadn't. "He wouldn't be happy that way. He's not the person he once was- you know that. He doesn't want to be a royal, he doesn't want to live like that. He would never be able to be happy like that, now. If I could, I would disappear with him, and we'd live some quiet little life together. But I can't do that. I need to take care of Nessarose and Munchkinland. And even if I didn't have any sort of responsibilities, where would I be able to hide out? I'm green! I'll never be able to not be Elphaba Thropp! He can't be himself, and I can't _not_be myself. That was a different lifetime!"

Glinda gently pushed Elphaba down onto the bed, softly hushing her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I understand." She smiled softly. "Why don't you go to him, he's only down the hall. I'll tell Nessa that you felt unwell and decided to lie down." Glinda didn't wait for her to answer, just grabbed her friend's arm, leading her down the hall, stopping in front of a door. She pushed it open, "Fiyero, I brought you someone."

He smiled at seeing her, even though she was obviously perturbed. He kissed her forehead, leading her into the room-it was the nursery. She didn't linger and didn't notice Glinda's leaving, instead walking over to the crib Laelia was sleeping in. She smiled at seeing the healthy, content baby. Her dark blonde hair was coming in, the same color as Fiyero's. She felt Fiyero's hand on her shoulder. "What's bothering you?"

She twisted around. "I don't know where I go from here," she said, shrugging as if she had just said, 'I _don't know what to wear to dinner._' "Nothing is what I thought it would be, I don't know who I am anymore." He opened his arms to her, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"What can I do for you, what do you need? Tell me, give me the word. I'll do whatever I can."

She could feel his hands in her hair, running down her back. She smiled at his concern, lifting her head. "I know. If anyone could save me, it would be you, Yero. But I don't think anyone could, because there's nothing to save me from. It's just me, myself. Good things have happened all around me. It's wonderful, but I've had nothing to do with it, just playing the handmaid's part. I always dreamed that one day I would finally do something I could be proud of. Something my father would be proud of, something that would make my sister glad to be related to me. And I haven't. Hell, I don't even have a job, I spend my days pouting, vexing my sister. I am _nothing_!"

"Would you stop talking about the woman I love that way?" He grabbed her by the shoulders, twisting her around so he could see her face.

She pressed her fingers to his lips. "Hush, you'll wake the baby. And I'm not insulting the woman you love." She stepped away from him. "She's not here anymore, I'm not her anymore. You don't love the woman I am now, you don't know who I am now, I don't know who I am now. You loved a headstrong, bold, reckless girl. And I'm not her anymore. I'm just... here, nowhere, everywhere. Nothing. It's like I'm dead, but my body doesn't understand that, it's waiting to catch up."

"How can you say I don't love you? I've never been anything without you. I'll never be anything without you. If you're nothing than neither am I."

"Stop romanticizing it, Fiyero." She wasn't angry, she couldn't work herself up to being angry. "It was a chapter of our lives, it's over."

"But the story isn't! How can you say the next chapter isn't us? How can you say-"

She shook her head. "I won't get a happy ending. I know, long ago it felt like I would. But I won't, and I've always known that."

"Why are you so desperate to be miserable?"

She rolled her eyes but never got to answer him- there was a knock on the door. "Boq?" she asked as she threw it open.

"Lady Glinda said you were ill, Miss Nessarose wanted me to check on you, so I checked all of the doors in this hallway. I can see you seem to be fine-" he edged past her into the room, and Fiyero wasn't fast enough in getting away. "Wait, what? Fiyero, is that you?"

He groaned, already agitated. "Nope, no Boq. I'm a ghost. Boo."

"He's haunting me, he won't let me be," Elphaba said, leaning against the door frame, half exhausted, half amused.

But Boq was having a revelation- the time it had taken for Elphaba to initially come to her sister, how at roughly the same time Glinda and Avaric had mysteriously adopted a baby girl, how Elphaba was prone to frequently staying with Glinda. "It's you! And the baby, she wasn't just some orphan on Glinda's doorstep, she's yours!"

Fiyero moved between Boq and the baby. "It doesn't change anything, but there's no use in denying it. You're right. So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," Boq said, shrugging. "I doubt you're happy, but I'm not going to make things worse. I'll help people when I can, even if they can't help me back. Right, Miss Elphie?"

She groaned, squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "This time I really do have a headache, and really am going to lie down." She stormed out of the room, wondering how sour things could turn.


	13. Chapter 13

Shorter chapter, but the next update should be pretty long, and it's important so I didn't want to break it up into parts, as I surely would if I tried to combine the first half of it with this.

Oh... and the spellchecker just said there were no errors other than the fact that it doesn't think the character's names are real words... I'm proud of myself! Well, until someone just HAS to point out some glaring error.

Read and review! I'm aiming to break one hundred reviews for this story!

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Come in, Boq!" Elphaba was curled up in her window seat, a book propped up on her lap, a bright red apple in her hand. It was a familiar enough scene, but the look in her eyes wasn't- the odd combination of calm and haunted that should've been impossible. It unsettled him as much as anything else.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Witch, remember?" she quipped, but went on to explain, "None of the servants come near my room, I don't even let the maids clean in here. Nessie doesn't seem to believe in privacy and doesn't bother knocking. You are the only one who would knock on my door." She shrugged. "And even if I were wrong and it wasn't you, it would hardly be a thing to be upset about... I'm rambling, what did you need?"

"You haven't left your room since we got back from the Emerald City."

"Yes I have."

"The bathroom that adjoins your room doesn't count... anyway, your sister wanted me to check and make sure you're alive."

"I've eaten the food trays you left outside my room, haven't I?" She took a bite out of the apple for emphasis. "What's this really about, Boq?" She pointed to the chair that sat nearby and he sat down on it.

"When exactly were you planning to do something about your sister? You told me you would months ago, but she's still in power. The Animals aren't being silenced anymore, but Munchkins are still slaves, even with all the new peace between Munchkinland and Oz. You promised me you would work to fix this, but I haven't seen any sign of it."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I've just been so busy lately with..." With what, the Wizard? Avaric, Glinda, even supposedly dead Fiyero had done all the work there. She'd just lazed through life, pouting over everything she had had and lost, or never had and still wanted. Annoyance with herself flared up, and it expressed itself through anger at Boq. "What is this, you coming to me after you find everything out? Are you holding Fiyero over my head? Laelia? You would hold my daughter over my head to get me to do what you want?"

"No! No, I wouldn't, Lurline, of course I wouldn't. Elphaba, I have no idea where you got it into your head that everyone is out to get you."

"But-"

"But all I was doing was reminding you of your promise. I'm not attacking you. I'm not demanding anything of you. I want you to be happy Elphaba, I've always considered you a friend, except for that time in which you weren't really you. And I can even understand _that_now. I want you to be happy, Elphie. I want that for everyone, even for Nessarose. The real Nessa, not the Wicked Witch of the East. I just wanted to remind you that we need your help."

"I don't know how to do it, Boq," she admitted. "I want her out of power as much as anyone else- more than anyone else! But I have no idea how to do it without hurting her. And I can't hurt her." She shivered a little at the thought of having a hand in it. Or, worse, at the thought of nothing ever changing and Munchkins forever enslaved. "I don't know if I can do anything."

He squeezed her arm lightly. "Alright then." He looked distracted for a second. "Isn't Laelia's birthday coming up? Soon, isn't it?"

"How's that for a non-sequiter? But it's about a month away. She'll be two," she murmurred. When had that much time passed? As she'd been drifting, she realized. _Good for nothing..._

"You should go see her, then. Or anytime. It would be good for you, I think. And with ties between Munchkinland and Oz so good... And maybe Glinda will be able to talk with Nessa. It seemed to do her good the last time we were there."


	14. Chapter 14

It was the first time she'd felt it in quite a long time; happiness. Real happiness, at something as simple as sitting in a rocking chair, a sleepy toddler in her lap. Laelia didn't think of her as her mother, she had no reason to. But she did seem fond of Elphaba, in a family-like way. She liked to be held, and had dropped off to sleep against Elphaba's shoulder. She was warm, happy, healthy. _So this is what it would have been like_, she mused to herself.

But not; if everything hadn't changed, she certainly wouldn't be sitting in a palace, rocking Laelia to sleep. She would probably be in an apartment in the wrong part of town, waiting for Fiyero to come home, or to not come home because he'd finally succeeded in getting himself killed. Perhaps this was better- Laelia was definitely safer with Glinda as a mother than she would've been with Elphaba. Happier too, probably.

She would tell Laelia the truth, eventually. Glinda had always sworn that she was more than willing to tell Laelia who her biological parents- she wanted the girl to know. But Elphaba had never been sure that was such a good idea. But now she was pretty sure she wanted Laelia to know, someday. Not anytime soon, but when she would be old enough to understand that she had been forced to give the little girl up out of her love for her.

_I check to make sure my hood keeps my face concealed before I pound on the door, shifting the baby in my other arm. A boy, well a young man a few years younger than me, answers the door, surprised to see a figure clad all in black. He's afraid of me, I can already tell. But he's also afraid for me, and even more so for my little girl. It's nearly summer, but there was an odd cold snap. It was what made me decide to come here. "Ma'am?" he prompts me, nervous._

_I take a chance, letting my hood fall. "Please, is Lady Glinda home? I used to know her, long ago. Could you fetch her, or bring me to her?"_

_He's taken aback by my skin tone, but doesn't say anything about it. "Yes, come in, have a seat. I'll ask her if she wishes to see..."_

_"Elphaba Tigelaar, my name is Elphaba Tigelaar." It was the only time I had ever introduced myself that way. Fiyero and I had always used false names in the Emerald City... our first names we could usually get away with using with minimal tweaking, but most everyone recognized Tigelaar as the last name of the Arjiki royal family, or Thropp as the last name of the Governor of Munchkinland. Really, it was probably stupid to introduce myself like that here, but it was soothing, too. This would be my last act as Elphaba Tigelaar._

_"I'll ask the Lady if she wishes to meet Miss-"_

_"Missus," I whisper to him._

_"Missus Tigelaar," he says, wondering off._

_Minutes later, Glinda and Avaric both come running down the hall, without any servants. He locks the doors to the sitting room I'd been ushered into, and she clasps me in her arms, careful of the baby. "Elphie," she murmurs. "What's happened to you?"_

_"He's gone, dead... I can't... The baby," I choke on the words, feel a sob coming on. "I know it's alot to ask but I can't... the baby." The words sputter out of my mouth, painful. I know Glinda is my best friend because she is actually able to make sense of them._

_She doesn't even glance at her husband before saying, "Yes. Of course."_

_I pass the baby to her- the baby that was now hers, not mine. "Her name is Laelia. He always liked that name... Laelia Rose." I press a kiss to her miniature forehead and try to give Glinda a smile. It doesn't work, but I still turn away from her, pushing past Avaric and unlocking the door. I don't look back because I can't. I exit the house, step back out into the evening light._

_That night, I killed two Gale Force officers. I wanted to kill the entire Force to ensure that I avenged his death, the right men suffered, but the two would have to be enough. I know neither of them probably had anything to do with it, but it doesn't matter. I'm sure they both did something that would warrant execution. Or they would, if allowed to live. I considered ending my own life afterward, but couldn't bring myself to do it._

"Am I allowed in?" A voice asked her, not wanting to startle her.

"Of course," she said. "I don't have any write to kick you out, it's not my house."

Fiyero groaned, exasperated. "If you had the right to kick me out, would you? I don't want to argue with you."

"I wouldn't kick you out," she promised as he scooped Laelia out of her lap. She woke up but quickly fell back asleep, obviously trusting him. He put her into her crib. "And I don't want to argue with you either. But if I disagree with you, I'll tell you so." She allowed him to help her out of the rocking chair and smoothed her skirt out.

He tried so smile, but it wasn't close to reaching his eyes. "You seem so sad now. Lonely."

"There isn't very much to my life," she admitted.

"You said before that you aren't the old you anymore, that I can't be in love with this new you." He reached into his shirt and pulled his wedding ring out into the open. "But I still have this, and you said before that you intended to always have yours. Maybe I don't know who this new you is, but won't you allow me to try and see if I can love this person you claim to be?"

"Claim?"

"Pardon me for not being convinced that there isn't some kernel of my Elphaba still inside you." He reached for her hand, knowing he was about to put all of his cards on the table. "The point is, would you let me try to understand and love the person in front of me?"

"I..." she trailed off, looking away from him. "I won't stop you from trying... but please don't tell me you love me, not yet. You can't know yet. And don't be disappointed if it never comes. I don't want to see you hurt."

"You won't," he promised her, and then he kissed her as he longed to. She froze for a second, but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and was kissing him back. Eventually, he pulled away, smiling at her. He found her hand, squeezing it. He quickly walked over to check on Laelia, then rejoined her. He led her out of the room, and they wandered down the hallway, finding his room first.

They tumbled to the bed together and he noticed there was finally hope in her eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

_It was sunny and warm. They'd all decided to eat outside that day- her, Fiyero. Glinda, Avaric, Nessarose, and Boq. The picnic tables weren't really meant for more than four people, but Nessa was able to slide her chair up at the head of the table and she and Fiyero were sitting awfully close to one another so it didn't really matter. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him even though it was warm outside. Time normally dragged for Elphaba, but it wasn't then. She was very reluctant to remind Fiyero, as well as everyone else that they had lives to get back to. "So you have class in ten minutes," she murmured to him._

_He frowned, but then a curious grin played across his face. "You already memorized my schedule?"_

_"I already had three classes with you, Linguistics, Ozian History, and Life Sciences. Picking up the other two wasn't hard," she said, poking him in the ribs._

_He rolled his eyes at her. "Excuse me for hoping my girlfriend would go out of her way to memorize something about me."_

_"You're excused," she said, gently pulling away from him and standing up. She tried to wipe the goofy smile off of her face that had formed as soon as he had called her his girlfriend. "And now you should really get to class."_

_He pretended to whine as he stood up and collected his text books. "You're ruining my reputation, Elphaba."_

_"Your reputation as what, exactly? If you're Shiz's Bad Boy, we're milder than I thought," she shot back. She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, still innocent and shy about displays of affection. Really, still innocent about most things._

"Elphie? Fiyero?" A gentle voice accompanied a gentle touch, shaking her awake.

Elphaba blinked a few times. Glinda had sat down on the edge of the bed, still slightly bleary eyed, a blue silk robe over her nightgown. Her hair hadn't been brushed yet and she had a tired, weary look. Behind her, Elphaba could see that the sun had just begun to rise. It was barely morning. "What's wrong?" She asked as she sat up, pulling the blanket with her. Fiyero sat up beside her, his arm wrapping around her mostly out of instinct.

"Elphie..." Glinda looked down into her lap, reaching out for her best friend's hand. "Elphie, Nessarose is gone."

She dropped Glinda's hand. "What?"

"She died last night in her sleep. A maid went in to wake her this morning but couldn't. She was already dead." She removed the silk robe and wrapped it around Elphaba's shoulders, moving out of the way as Elphaba stood up, walking over to the window.

She leaned her head against the cool glass of the windowpane, tears already flowing down her face. "It was Boq, wasn't it?"

"I... There was a syringe next to her bed. It looked like someone gave her an injection after she'd fallen asleep. I'm confident she didn't feel anything. She didn't suffer at all. She just looked like she was asleep. She seemed very peaceful." She reached out to gently touch Elphaba's shoulder, but she shrugged her off. "Elphie, I'm so sorry."

"It was Boq, I know it. If he didn't do it himself, he knew it was going to happen." She twisted around, by that point her face was soaked with tears and she could hardly speak. All the same, she rasped out, "And the two of you knew it, too. I-I'm not angry.. I just..." She ran a hand over her hair, trying to gain some sort of composure. Fiyero had located his clothing and had gotten up. He approached her tentatively, but she would not let him touch her. "All three of you were asking me, trying to see if I ever planned to do anything, and you know I couldn't. Together you did what I couldn't. You all did the right thing, but I-" a sob was able to crack through then, and speech was beyond her.

Again, the both of them reached for her and she stepped away, her back pressed against the cold window. "Elphaba, please. Let me-" Fiyero's arms were open to her, just ready for her to collapse into.

But no, she couldn't do that. "No...I just need a little time alone." Fiyero and Glinda exchanged an anxious look. "Really, I promise you, I know you were just doing what you had to do. You can tell... who else knows? Boq? Avaric? Tell them I'm not angry. I just really need to be alone. Please."

Reluctantly, they left her, both dragging their feet out the door. Once they were gone, Elphaba slid down the wall, feeling it's coolness through Glinda's robe. Oh Oz, how she wished she could have allowed herself to take comfort in Glinda or Fiyero. But she couldn't! Nessarose had never been able to take comfort in a best friend. She had never been able to fall into a lover's embrace. She had always had people there to take care of her physical needs but she never had really had anyone to take care of her emotionally. The golden daughter had lived a cold, lonely life. The problem child had found love.

No wonder Nessarose had become the monstor that she did!

She had not been lying when she said she did not blame any of her friends. She did not consider her sister's death murder- not anymore than she considered her father's death murder. It was a tragedy, but it had surely saved Munchkinland from worse pain. It would have been easy to blame them for the pain she was experiencing. Boq for encouraging the sisters to visit, and probably for doing the deed. Glinda for managing things. Fiyero for loving her so damn much and keeping her distracted. It would be easy to hate them all forever.

But she couldn't. All Boq had wanted was his freedom. Glinda wanted to try and protect the country she had been charged with, Oz- and Munchkinland had never truly stopped being a part of Oz. And Fiyero had wanted to ease her pain, save her from both her sister and herself. They all had possessed nothing but good intentions. Elphaba herself had said many times that sometimes death was necessary, pain for one was often for the greater good. Nessarose's death was the only way Oz could heal. No one had wanted her death, but there had been no way to save her and the people. Elphaba knew it all.

But it still _hurt._

She had no desire to go wail over her sister's body. She didn't even want to see the corpse for one last time. She knew Glinda had not been lying when she had said that Nessarose had not felt any sort of pain at her death. Boq would not have caused Nessarose pain; he still remembered the girl she had been before everything had gone so wrong.

* * *

She didn't know why it had surprised her, it only made sense. Nessarose had no children and they had no younger siblings. She was the only legal blood relative of the last ruler of Munchkinland, and as such Elphaba was proclaimed the next Governor. Her first action had been to free the Munchkinlanders. Her second had been to sign a treaty with Glinda, reuniting Munchkinland and Oz. Her third had been to proclaim that her successor would be elected in a free election after her death. Then she did very, very little. Publicly, anyway. She lived in Colwen Grounds and allowed Boq to deal with Munchkinland's day to day problems.

A visit from Fiyero had become extended, and he lived at her side for the rest of their lives. They never remarried and could not flaunt their intimacy, but it was enough. She never believed him when he told her she was beautiful. She didn't believe he loved her, but she knew she loved him as she had for years. He told her she was a hypocrite, and she told him that he was much easier to love than she was. Love her or not, he never left her and pouted horribly whenever she kicked him out of her rooms.

Glinda ruled Oz for roughly ten years before stepping down, claiming she didn't think it was a wonderful idea for anyone to rule a country indefinitely. She remained a public figure and her beauty never faded. She and Avaric had three natural children together, giving her plenty to do in her retirement.

Laelia grew into a beautiful, intelligent young woman. Elphaba claimed it was because she physically took after Fiyero and Glinda had raised her well. Fiyero claimed it was because she had blossomed due to good genetics-from her mother. Although she was sometimes tempted to, and had everyone's full support, Elphaba never told the girl of her true parentage. She didn't want Laelia to feel tainted by her bloodlines and didn't know how she would be able to explain it to the girl. She was just glad to be able to watch her grow up with safety and love.

And Elphaba was finally able to come back into herself. An older, wiser, calmer version of herself, who again had faith in those around her and was not afraid of what the future held.

The End

_So that's it! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If you enjoyed this, I encourage you to keep an eye out for my chapter stories Born To Be Forever and With The Stars Aligning... and perhaps something else, soon. Thank you all so much for reading._


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